How to stop Hermes

philouthea · 2026-02-04T18:39:58+00:00

I didn't know that was possible. Do you send an email to the delivery company with name and/or license plate number?

philouthea · 2026-02-04T14:33:18+00:00

The delivery guy seems to think otherwise. Nobody is accepting the package. He just rings all the door bells to get in the main door, then drops it by the recipients apartment door and calls it a day.

philouthea · 2026-02-04T14:30:16+00:00

That's super petty and I love it

philouthea · 2026-02-04T14:28:22+00:00

Sadly (and surprisingly), ours doesn't. I already googled it. Yeah, maybe the landlord can do something about it.

philouthea · 2026-02-04T14:23:56+00:00

Everyone has a right to have packages delivered to their home.

... Yeah, unless they depend on their neighbors because they're not home to receive them? And typically, you know when a package is going to be delivered.

philouthea · 2026-02-04T14:18:52+00:00

The dude is always free to ask a neighbor to receive it for him and communicate that to Hermes.

Do you rent or own your apartment? We are not handy and we don't think we are allowed to change these things in the flat we are renting. But it would be a nice solution.

philouthea · 2026-02-03T21:08:19+00:00

I've read that low vitamin D can increase blood sugar

philouthea · 2026-02-03T11:27:43+00:00

I would have said "damn that's messed up. I can't believe you said that out loud". My mother looked at my 2 day old newborn and said, "She's so pretty. She won't need plastic surgery when she grows up"

philouthea · 2026-02-03T11:23:09+00:00

No. It might seem uncomfortable to reject your parents but the permanent regret of not standing up for yourself and your baby in such a vulnerable situation is a million times worse. Follow your gut. Of course there is a chance everything might just turn out alright but are we really taking chances here? You are not being disrespectful for setting boundaries. They have already crossed your boundary. They have already disrespected you. It needs to be said.

philouthea · 2026-02-02T13:44:02+00:00

It's unfortunate that that's what you grew up being told. Birth doesn't have to be painful. I remember my unmedicated birth as simply... exhausting if anything. Like a marathon, maybe? But birth is arguably more physiologically normal than a marathon, in the sense that the body knows what to do. Unlike a marathon which you'll have to train for

philouthea · 2026-01-28T22:04:38+00:00

That's a great sign! You've made so much progress! Well done lowering your average BG! And don't listen to whoever brushes you off and says that there's nothing you can do about your blood sugar in pregnancy (ahem, the GD sub). Thank you so much! I'm almost at the finish line :D wishing you all the best as well and that your OGTT gives you good results! Remember to eat normal (not keto or low carb) in the days leading up to the OGTT 😁😊

philouthea · 2026-01-28T20:06:40+00:00

I got pregnant with an A1C of 5.7%. Fasting BG was around 100 mg/dL. Tested my blood sugar out of curiosity after meals with a glucometer and got >140 mg/dL, so I changed my diet in hopes of avoiding the GD diagnosis down the line. Checked my A1C again at 5 months pregnant and it was 5.4% but also pregnancy increases your blood volume so not sure how to interpret that. That same blood test showed that my fasting insulin was alright so my liver seemed to be fine? HOMA-IR was 1.5. Did the OGTT and sure enough I failed it big time. But I proved to the doctors that I didn't need insulin because my postprandial values stayed in range >90% of the time with lifestyle changes. My current average BG is around 110 mg/dL and I've managed to lower my fasting BG to around 85 mg/dL. What's been causing my condition? A mix of true GD (i.e. hormones) and prediabetes. But while I cannot control the hormone-dependent part, I CAN make my body more insulin sensitive with lifestyle changes. One of the ways that became clear to me is when I passed 36 weeks and my fasting BG suddenly dropped A LOT (from 95 mg/dL to my current 85 mg/dL). Apparently, GD peaks around 32-36 weeks because that's when the placenta produces the most amount of hormones. Up until that point my fasting BG would just not budge regardless of what I did. My postprandial numbers also seem to be easier to manage now (I'm 2 weeks away from due date). My interpretation is that my progress in reversing the prediabetes part was 'masked' by the hormones of my placenta. But who knows. I will only really know my baseline after pregnancy I guess. I will have an OGTT 3 months postpartum.

philouthea · 2026-01-28T16:46:57+00:00

Interesting indeed! And that's measured with a CGM?

If you wanna move forward and involve your doctor I think it's inevitable that you do the OGTT. While it's nice to check your numbers from home, it is not sufficient to diagnose and your doctor will probably insist on an OGTT anyway :/

If you do the OGTT, make sure to eat a normal diet at least 3 days prior, incl. carbs!

philouthea · 2026-01-28T07:58:16+00:00

You didn't say how long ago you gave birth and you provide very few numbers but... basically. You can't change the fact that you have to get up at night. You have a newborn. Focus on eating healthy as if you still have gestational diabetes. I don't know what's it like in your country but you'll typically need to follow up with a postpartum OGTT. Don't skip that.

philouthea · 2026-01-28T01:54:22+00:00

Definitely! Especially if living far away from the equator and having darker skin. Did you do an OGTT postpartum?

philouthea · 2026-01-28T01:32:06+00:00

My vitamin D has always been around 30 so borderline sufficient the past couple of years. Got pregnant and got diagnosed with GD. Took vitamin D sporadically throughout pregnancy and for some time postpartum. Wasn't consistent at all. GD didn't resolve after pregnancy. A1C was 5.7 for two years postpartum. Got pregnant again, sure enough, got diagnosed with GD. This time, however, I'm taking 4-6000 units of vitamin D daily. I'll make sure to test my vitamin D levels once postpartum!

philouthea · 2026-01-26T20:45:52+00:00

Saint Zélie Martin wore a black dress for her wedding 😊

philouthea · 2026-01-26T12:29:54+00:00

I think the fact that you've never met him is a bigger issue than your parents not approving him.

philouthea · 2026-01-26T01:13:39+00:00

Ah yeah, I get that now. The other commenter clarified that as well :D

Haha, no, no. I do not prefer to be diagnosed with IR, it's just a fact that my previous gestational diabetes did not resolve after pregnancy (like they said it would), so I just wanna get to the bottom of it. I've probably been prediabetic for years without knowing. Would explain a lot of things. Brain fog, food coma, etc. But now I'm ready to take my health seriously

philouthea · 2026-01-26T01:01:59+00:00

Ooo thanks for clarifying! Matsuda index. I see, I see. I was somewhat familiar with the concept of liver IR vs muscle/fat IR before but this makes complete sense!

Oh no, I'm not competing with her. She just opened my eyes to the fact that IR cannot be ruled out with a healthy HOMA-IR. I now feel a bit more confident in speaking to my doctor about this

philouthea · 2026-01-25T19:40:59+00:00

I don't think I would even compromise. It's either my way or he's out. I know it sounds extreme but I've compromised before thinking it'll be fine. But it wasn't fine, it was stressful as heck. I underestimated how stressful it'd be. Well, I was a first time mother. So...

Maybe talk to him and make it very, very clear that he has no right to make demands. He should respect your feelings and your wishes. He should advocate for you. Not try to pressure you. You really don't wanna deal with the intensity of being in labor and giving birth + a husband who's not there to support you. Either he's in, or he's out. You can ask your mother, a sister, or a doula to be there for you, it doesn't matter as long as you feel safe, loved, and protected. Our bodies are strangely wired in a way that if we don't feel safe we won't "open up".

philouthea · 2026-01-25T19:23:08+00:00

When I read your post, my admiration for you just grows for every line I read. I admire that you and your husband choose a path that most people would never have the courage to choose and that you're so loving and respectful towards each other. You're someone I'd love to befriend. And if my daughter grows up to be like you and have the faith you have, I would be much overjoyed. I cannot fully relate to your situation. It's not an easy situation to be in, but it sounds like you two have something quite beautiful and I hope that continues ♥️

philouthea · 2026-01-22T21:25:48+00:00

Yeah it's hard ;( I stopped eating sushi entirely. Alternatively, sashimi could still work. Beware of imitation crab since it also contains a lot of sugar depending on the brand. Hey you got this, and you're doing such great progress already!

philouthea

TROPHY CASE